What it means
رب (rob) means a thick, concentrated paste made by cooking down fruit or vegetables until most of the liquid evaporates. The word is borrowed from Arabic rabb, which referred to thickened fruit juice, and the same root gave Medieval Latin and European languages their word for reduced syrup. In modern Persian cooking, رب (rob) on its own almost always means tomato paste: رب گوجهفرنگی (rob-e gojeh farangi). You will also hear رب انار (rob-e anar, pomegranate paste) in northern Iranian recipes. The word is pronounced with a short vowel and a doubled b sound: rob.
How to use it
- یه قاشق رب به خورش اضافه کن. (Ye qashog rob be khoresh ezafe kon.) “Add a spoonful of paste to the stew.”
- رب گوجه رو اول تفت بده. (Rob-e gojeh ro aval taft bede.) “Fry off the tomato paste first.”
- رب انار برای فسنجان لازمه. (Rob-e anar baraye fesenjan lazeme.) “Pomegranate paste is needed for fesenjan.”
- رب تموم شده، یه قوطی بخر. (Rob tamum shode, ye quti bekhar.) “The tomato paste is finished, buy a can.”
Cultural note
Tomato paste became a staple of Iranian cooking in the twentieth century as canned goods spread across the country, but the concept of reducing fruit into رب (rob) is far older. Medieval Persian cookbooks describe concentrated pomegranate and sour grape pastes used to add depth and tartness to meat dishes, a tradition that survives today in fesenjan and some northern khoresh recipes. When browning رب گوجه (rob-e gojeh) in oil at the start of a dish, Iranians say they are تفت دادن رب (taft dadan-e rob), frying out the raw taste, a step considered non-negotiable by most home cooks.